Ben Stokes opts out of Ind T20 League 2024

England all rounder, and Test captain, Ben Stokes has opted himself out from the upcoming edition of the Indian T20 League. His franchise, Chennai (CHE) confirmed the news on Thursday (November 23). Stokes, who reversed his ODI retirement and featured in the just concluded World Cup in India, will undergo a left knee surgery and will be on the road to recuperation ahead of England’s much anticipated Test tour of India towards the end of January 2024. However, he will not participate in the Indian T20 League that will follow in order to manage his fitness and workload. 

"I will hopefully be fine for the Test series [against India]," Stokes had said during the World Cup. "I am having surgery after the World Cup... There was a lot of time put into deciding when to get it done. The India Test series, which we start at the end of January, I should be fine to go by then."

As reported earlier CHE were set to release Ben Stokes who they bought for a staggering INR 16.25 crore in last year’s auction, due to the uncertainty over his availability for the season. The franchise has now shown their support for the all rounder and his decision to skip next season. 

"The CHE management is supportive of Ben in his decision to manage his workload with England playing a 5-Test series in India before the Ind T20 League and then the T20 World Cup in June 2024,"  said an official CHE statement